The official teaser for the 2023 festival
RELIVE THE 2023 EDITION IN PICTURES
THE DANCERS
Lindy Hop lessons
Internationally renowned dancers, Alice Mei and Remy Kouakou Kouame were both already known and recognized before forming this duo. Together, we discover them more musical, precise and stylish than ever!
Solo Jazz Lessons
Felix Berghäll is a Swedish, African, American and vernacular Lindy Hop dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher as well as a DJ and music researcher…
Solo Jazz Lessons
Fatima Teffahi is one of the most important personalities of the Lindy Hop and Swing dance revival in Europe. She lives in Stockholm, where she has been a member of Rhythm Hot Shots (now Harlem Hot Shots) since the very beginning. She is co-founder of the Chicago Swing Dance studio.
Lindy Hop lessons
At the age of 15, Frida Segerdahl attended the Herrang Dance Camp and fell in love with the Lindy Hop. In no time at all, he was asked to join the world’s largest jazz dance company, Rhythm Hot Shots. Since 1999, Skye Humphries has taught wherever Lindy Hop is practiced, from national weekends to international dance camps.
THE MUSICIANS
Jungle Cats takes us back to the jazz clubs of New Orleans, revealing all their madness. More than a concert, the sextet takes you on a journey to the origins of jazz, with a frenzied swing that transports you into a frenetic, unforgettable atmosphere. Between interpretations of jazz standards and original compositions, the musicians take you into unexplored territories where improvisation reigns supreme.
Jungle Cats’ all-consuming energy is rooted in their history of brass band experience and street performances, and in the joy of sharing a moment with their audience. Their original repertoire will delight Jazz Festivals as much as swing and Lindy Hop dance lovers, as long as the fun is there. No tricks, just raw energy and a touch of madness: you won’t come away from a Jungle Cats concert unscathed!
Live, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 2pm, at the Polygone shopping center in Montpellier, as part of the festival warm-up.
The Carolina Reapers Swing was born from the meeting of young, crazy musicians of the ’30s and ’40s and the “swing” dance. This synergy produced a group that is interested in jazz standards and in the rare pieces that bring together music and “swing” dancing since the early days of “lindy hop”.
By its energy, their style is alive in spite of their chiseled arrangements. That is to say that they combine classicism and a new approach of the “ole’ trad jazz songs” of the “swing” era… and their name is already synonymous with “ça va chauffer !
Live, on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7pm, at the opening of the festival
and Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 9:00 pm, for the gala evening at the castle of Flaugergues
Dixieland Orchestra plays the so-called “Revival” Swing of the 1950s. The time when the great musicians who created Jazz return to the front of the stage to ignite an already conquered public. This is the time when Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong became immortal!
Live, Saturday, July 22, 2023, 1 p.m., Promenade du Peyrou
The Jazz Society is a quintet of seasoned musicians with a passion for Golden Era swing. Duke Ellington and Count Basie are just two of the great musicians who inspire the Quintet’s repertoire.
Live, Saturday, July 22, 2023, 8 p.m., Promenade du Peyrou
“La Belle Époque” brings the vinyl records of the Benny Goodman Sextet back to life, with a clarinet and two guitars!
This gypsy swing trio will also perform tunes by singers of the era such as Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Billy Holiday.
Live, Sunday, July 23, 2023, 1 p.m., Promenade du Peyrou
Marla and her Cool Chicken distill festive, danceable swing.
Drawing inspiration from the masters of the genre, the group offers its own arrangements of the great Swing standards, some of which are sung in French.
Live, Sunday, July 23, 2023, 8 p.m., Promenade du Peyrou
THE PROGRAM
Warm Up at the Polygon
Le Polygone shopping center, Montpellier
2pm & 4pm – Live from the Jungle Cats in the Polygone aisles.
3pm – Free Lindy Hop initiation with Andréa & Tom in the Patio FNAC. – Free of charge
Festival opening night
Peyrou walk
7pm – Doors open, followed by the official inauguration
8 p.m. – Concert by Carolina Reapers Swing, open-air ball and presentation of teachers and guest dancers – Free
Free – 7pm / 11pm
Day 1 – 10am / 11pm
Peyrou walk
10 a.m. / 1 p.m. – Master Class Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz – with tickets
12:30 pm – Tasting workshop – Rosé, the star of summer! by Pays d’Oc IGP – Free with registration
1pm – Concert by the Dixieland Orchestra – Free
1:30 p.m. – Jazz History Lecture – Free with registration
3pm / 6pm – Master Class Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz – with tickets
18h – Tasting workshop – Discovering unusual grape varieties by Pays d’Oc IGP – – Free with registration
18h / 19h – Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz Initiations – Free with registration
8 p.m. / 10 p.m. – Concert by the Jazz Society Quintet – Free
Gala evening at the Château de Flaugergues
8pm / 1am – Concert by Carolina Reapers Swing + Guest followed by a Swing Ball
Tickets: €29
Day 2 – 10am / 11pm
Peyrou walk
10 a.m. / 1 p.m. – Master Class Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz – with tickets
12:30 – Tasting workshop – Dare fresh reds! by Pays d’Oc IGP – Free with registration
1pm – Concert by La Belle Epoque – Free
1:30 pm – Tasting workshop – Discovering unusual grape varieties by Pays d’Oc IGP – Free with registration
3pm / 6pm – Master Class Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz – with tickets
18h / 19h – Swing Kids and Solo Jazz Initiations – Free with registration
6pm – Tasting workshop – Rosé, the star of summer! by Pays d’Oc IGP – Free with registration
8pm / 10pm – Concert by Marla & the cool chicken – Free
new features for 2023
live entertainment at Polygone
Live strolling of our hot jazz quintet, the Jungle Cats, in the aisles of the Polygone.
Lindy Hop initiation with Andréa & Tom in the Patio du Polygone.
Friday, July 21, 2023 from 2 p.m. at the Polygone in Montpellier
The Swinging Montpellier festival defends Montpellier’s art of living as a cultural element, and is joining forces with IGP Pays d’Oc winemakers to offer a wine discovery program featuring 5 workshops…
Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 July 2023, promenade du Peyrou
The world of jazz in the spotlight, by Sylvie Chalaye
Swinging Montpellier isn’t just about dancing and singing jazz, the festival is also about the history of jazz and related social issues…
Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 1:30 p.m., Promenade du Peyrou
SWING for youngsters!
This year’s festival is sure to get young and old alike dancing!
Swinging Montpellier is a good ambassador for generational diversity, and is now reaching out to younger members of the community, opening dance classes for children aged 8 to 14 who already have some dance experience.
Sunday, July 23, 2023 at 6 p.m., Promenade du Peyrou
ACCESS MAP
promenade du peyrou
The favorite walk of the Montpellier inhabitants
Thanks to its location and the exceptional view it offers, the Place du Peyrou is an emblematic place of Montpellier. The last royal square built in France, it has the particularity of being a tree-lined esplanade of 3 hectares located at the periphery of the Ecusson at its highest point.
Belvedere widely open to all horizons, it hosts an equestrian statue of Louis XIV, which Jean Giral, the architect, will complete in 1774. The triumphal arch and the water tower that extends the aqueduct are models of classical architecture.
In 1685, Louis XIV designated Montpellier to receive an equestrian statue in his effigy. To build a royal square, the most complete expression of the monarchic glory speech, means to create a worthy setting for the statue of the sovereign. The earthworks and enlargement began in 1689.
It is only 75 years later, under the reign of Louis XVI, in 1766, that the embellishment works are launched. Completed in 1775, the Place Royale du Peyrou was considered one of the most beautiful squares in the kingdom, thanks to its location and the exceptional view it offers.
